38 years ago my family escaped a warn-torn country. My parents left everything they knew and loved behind. Can you imagine? Being in your early 20's with three very young children and leaving your home, your family, your friends, and your country behind? Most people can't grasp that idea of how foreign that really is, because English is spoken all over the world. But there my mom was...a young Vietnamese woman who had only traveled as far as Dong Ha to Bien Hoa in her entire life...and with bombs and bullets raining around her, was forced to leave Vietnam with no destination in sight--it was just, "get out." In the years since I've been back to VN and have met the many friends and family my mom left behind...the story I get is the same. "Your mom didn't want to leave." In fact, the only thing that made her leave, was her friends telling her that should my dad be caught by the communist, he would be tortured and possibly killed, and she'd be forced to watch. So with my youngest brother in her arms, then just months old, and me and my other brother...ages 5 and 3 clinging on to her pant leg...my dad loaded us all on to a 1968 50cc moped and drove us to an airbase in Bien Hoa. We never would have made it , says my dad...if it wasn't for that little moped that carried us through unspeakable death and destruction. At the airbase, my mom, all nearly 5 feet of her--laid her body to cover all three of us children while my dad jumped from aircraft to aircraft trying to find one with fuel. He did. A chinook that he used to fly us and other desperate families to the airport in Saigon. A trek that forever changed our lives. The stories my parents have told of that those days are far more dramatic, far more heart-breaking than any Hollywood movie. Every decision they made affected the rest of our lives--like when my mom refused to leave when women and children were taken to an island off the coast of Vietnam. She didn't want to leave my dad's side. The struggles my parents went through after arriving in America are also something no movie has ever captured. Tears roll down my face now as I write this--an unbearable feeling of sadness and heartbreak, gratitude and anger--other emotions I can't even name. They worked hard to start our lives over again, We didn't know the language, the people, or the food. It wasn't until years later that my parents were able to send a cryptic letter to Dong Ha via Sweden to let their families know we were still alive. I love Vietnam and miss it like a bird that needs to fly south. But here we are, nearly 4 decades later and America--with all her good and bad--still embraces me and my family with freedom and opportunity. I feel forever indebted to this great country...to my parents...and to that little moped that carried a family of five out of hell.

This post struck a particular chord with me as a co-worker and I were talking about how today’s teenagers DO NOT seem to know the struggles their parents or grandparents went through to provide their generation with a better life. For many immigrants or non-white people in the U.S., it was only a generation or two ago that they suffered hard times in their homeland. But many people seemed to have forgotten about the path they or their family took to make a better living.
My parents both immigrated to the U.S. and made a life-changing and tough choice to come to America and provide a better life for my 3 sisters and I. We can’t thank them enough and have taken advantage of the chance to make them proud. We all graduated from college and currently provide for them as a huge thanks.

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Steve Lott

4/30/2013 11:56:16 am

Wonderful story about how you and your family came to America and all that you had to go through. I don't think a lot of people can comprehend what it took for some to get here and take it for granted, especially us who have lived here for many generations..... Amazing story about an amazing family written by an amazing person!

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Gustavo Sampaio

4/30/2013 12:02:46 pm

It's amazing how powerful the desire for freedom and peace can be and your parents were heroes when they needed to be. Congratulations on everything you do with your organization.

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John Orate

4/30/2013 12:33:08 pm

Thank you for sharing your story Leyna. This showed a lot of risk, survival, love, and commitment for you and your siblings to have a better life. Your parents fought and delivered such an unselfish act. A fabulous tribute to them which shows how much you truly understand and appreciate what they did for you.

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Frank

4/30/2013 12:38:15 pm

I share similar stories. The strength and courage of my parents are unimaginable. The trials and tribulations they went through I cannot. Whatever success I have in life is a result of their sacrifice.

My dad was a CO in the SVN Navy. I remembered vividly cramming into his cruiser at the very last hour sailing to the Philippines. I remembered ships departing Vietnam and helicopters chasing/flying after the ships to unload more panic stricken passengers. I was on board my dad's vessel looking back at the scene of the helicopters being pushed overboard into the ocean. For a six year old at the time, it was a life defining moment.

Beautiful story Chi, thanks for sharing with us...it's an honor to be able to give back a lil to less fortunate people back home thru LATO. You're my one and only role model and always will be...Love you Chi.<3

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Mark Jenkins

4/30/2013 03:14:29 pm

Leyna, what an amazing story and thank you for sharing it with us. You are a true inspiration to many people and myself.

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Kong

4/30/2013 04:37:14 pm

Thank you for sharing. As I was reading and deciphering your story, it was as if you were telling my story and the only difference was that we escaped from Laos. Even after escaping Laos in the late 70's, we had to endure more struggles in the Thailand Refugee Camp across the Mekong River. 30 year have passed since, I can still remember the struggles from the camp even though I was only 5 at the time. I keep the family photo from that camp with me always as a reminder to keep going on days I feel I can't go on. In the picture, I always concentrate on my parents' paled and frailed faces because they tell me how much they sacrificed everything for me and my sister. We both graduated from college and we in return take care of them now. My parents have taught me to be a better person in the way I have shown to empathize and never look down on those less fortunate. To always pick someone up when they fall and embrace our past because it helps shape our future. In retrospect, I am grateful for all the lessons along the way because I am a humbled, better person for it.

“Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.”
~ William Shakespeare

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Isabelle Kimberly Le

4/30/2013 06:47:42 pm

I would love to see this story in addition to documentation
1975 refugee and now 2013 book cover at places
like Barnes and noble..
I cried while reading your story!
Thank you for sharing!

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Ruben Arias

4/30/2013 07:15:03 pm

Hi Leyna that was a hard story to read. Your parents sacrificed everything to keep you safe and your family. Very courageous they wanted to give you a better life. It reminded me of my grandparents coming from Mexico for better opportunities. My family and Mom can't relate they didn't learn English till grade school since my grandparents only spoke Spanish. America is great and let's us strive for our goals and dreams. All my support Leyna. I want to contribute to your Love Across The Ocean.

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Chris Coco

4/30/2013 11:27:28 pm

Thanks for sharing your story. I have a close friend who has a similar story about her family escaping Cambodia. Her parents lost a few children along the way, but three made it here to the US.

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Jim Barbo

5/1/2013 04:25:57 am

Your beautiful story is about family values and freedom. You know that I admire your achievements, your joy of life, your kindness and your humanity. This poem is for Leyna, family, friends and LATO:

Universal Freedom Is......
Freedom from hunger and freedom from pain
freedom from loss and so freedom from gain.
Freedom to give and freedom to share
freedom from want and that of despair.

Freedom to think and freedom to know
freedom to achieve and freedom to grow.
Freedom from bondage and freedom of liberation
freedom from ignorance and any unknown situation.

Freedom to come and freedom to leave
freedom to stay and freedom to conceive.
Freedom from struggle and freedom of ease
freedom to enjoy and the capacity to please.

Freedom from failure and freedom of success
freedom from denial and freedom of access.
Freedom from illusion and freedom of reality
freedom to become what we are in actuality.

Freedom to live and freedom to die
freedom to laugh and freedom to cry.
Freedom to speak and freedom to listen
freedom to act based on a wise decision.

Freedom from hate and freedom of love
freedom of below and freedom of above.
Freedom of the past and freedom of the present
freedom of the future and what it can represent.

Freedom from war and freedom of peace
freedom to begin and freedom to cease.
Freedom from sickness and freedom of health
freedom from poverty and mishandled wealth.

Freedom from wrong and freedom being right
freedom of the day and freedom of the night.
Freedom to choose and freedom to reject
freedom to imagine what there is to expect.

Freedom from lust and freedom from greed
freedom from anger and freedom from breed.
Freedom from jealousy and freedom from pride
freedom from within and freedom from outside.
Freedom of always not having anything to hide.

Freedom from space and also freedom from time
freedom from attachment and freedom from crime
Freedom to work and freedom to play
freedom to believe and freedom to pray.
Freedom to experience a rebirth someday.

Freedom from the body and freedom from the mind
freedom from the ego and freedom from being blind.
Freedom of transcendence being of the spiritual kind.

Universal freedom is eternal and infinite bliss
we should all therefore be able to realise this.

George Krokos

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Jim Guzik

5/1/2013 05:10:26 am

Thanks Leyna for reminding me how fortunate I am. I have heard similar stories from friends of mine about their escape from VN.

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George wallace

9/5/2017 11:56:38 am

Im so sorry youre family had to go through this .
A very tough time for a young family.
God bless you and youre family Leyna.
From , George

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Thanks for logging in to LATO's blog. Although we'll use this venue to let you know about the happenings with our charity–it’ll also be the place for occasional ramblings of a news reporter. One of our admins is my brother Cubi–(for Vietnamese speakers–that was his “house-name” Cu-Bi, (yup, as in little pee-pee but don’t bring it up.) Our youngest brother is Cu-Bo, and although he later adopted the name Tony because his Viet name is Tuan–Cubi couldn't make anything out of Huy–so Cubi stuck. Cubi is LATO’s event planner/PR guru/”run down to Little Saigon and pick up some noodles” guy. He’s bald, (by choice) with tattoos (ask him what they are) AND…he’s single. He speaks Vietnamese well–but it’s in Quang Tri/Hue accent, so it’s like Greek to most Vietnamese anyway. So feel free to post, ask questions, (ask him out) complain, or comment. I just ask that you all respect each other even if you have completely different views. We’ll try our best to keep the blog current and hope you all enjoy our postings.Leyna